Great time to have a goWes Brew | First Published: April 2005

With Easter and then winter bearing down on us, it is the best time to get down to the beach and enjoy the last run of species like gummy sharks, flathead and elephant fish, with the possibility of a big snapper.

The Lakes Entrance area has been producing salmon to 1kg in the Lake Tyers and eastern beach areas. The best time, as with most fish species, is first and last light, with the most successful baits being bluebait and squid. The ever-reliable surf poppers are also worth a go, as is spinning with metal lures and soft plastics. The odd gummy shark is being taken in the Pettman’s Beach area at night, with bluebait and squid again being the best baits.

Lately there have been trawlers working just offshore at night. Although they look suspicious, they are targeting prawns and bugs off the bottom and not actually taking any fish.

The Loch Sport and Golden Beach areas have been fishing quite well when the weather permits. There have been salmon, small flathead, trevally, the odd gummy shark and some elephant fish. The elephant fish normally make an appearance at this time of year, but they don’t hang around that long so it will pay to give them a try as soon as you can. There have also been reports of some anglers being busted up, possibly by larger sharks. The best baits have been bluebait, pipis and squid, while surf poppers are always worth having on the bottom dropper of your rig.

At Woodside the fishing has been pretty much the same, with good salmon and flathead being taken, and the odd gummy hanging around. The elephant fish are also around in numbers at present. The gummies have been coming on in great numbers and sizes on the full moon phases lately, so keep your eye on the moon if you want to try for them. Once again, the best baits have been bluebait and surf poppers in all colours (red, green and blue). The gummies are best targeted with bigger baits like a squid or a fresh fillet of salmon or trevally.

So, with reports like this, it is certainly worth having a go off the beach before some species become less prevalent as the water begins to cool down.